Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1887-08-26
TELNGUAPHC SUMMARY.
An Epaons Of The Principal Events Now
Attracting Public Interest


A Terrible Disaster.
CHIcAoo.-The Times special from
Forest, Illinois, says: All the railway
horrors in the history OF this country
we're surpassed three miles east Of
Chatsworth, when an excursion train
on the Toledo, Peoria & Western road
dropped through burning bridge
and over one hundred people killed and
four times that number more or less
wounded. The train was composed
OF six sleeping, six day coaches and
chair cars, and three baggage cars. 1t
was carrying 900 passengers, all excur-
sionists, and was bound for Niagara
Falls. The train was so heavy that
two engines were hitched to it, and
when it passed this place was one and
half hours behind time. Chats
worth, the next station east of here, is
six miles off, and the run there was
made in seven minutes; 80 the terri
BILE momentum OF those fifteen coaches
and two heavy engines shooting
through space at the rate Of mile a
minute can be understood. No stop
was made at Chatsworth, and on the
heavy train with its living freight, sped
through the darkness OF the night.
Three miles east of Chatsworth is a
little slough, where the railroad track
crossed dry run, about ten feet deep
and fifteen wide. Over this was
stretched an ordinary wooden trestle
bridge, and as the train came thun-
dering down on it what was the horror
Of the engineer OF the front engine
when he saw the bridge was on fire.
Right before his eyes leaped the bright
flames, and the next instant he was
among them. There was no chance
to stop. Had there been a warning, it
would have taken q mile to stop that
on.rushing mass OF wood, iron and hu.
man lives, and the train was within one
hundred yards OF the red-tongued mes
senger of death before they flashed
their final signals into the engineers
face, but he passed over in safety, the
first engine keeping the rails. As it
went over the bridge fell beneath it,
and it could only have been the ter
rife speed of the train which saved
the lives of the engineer and his fire
man, but the next engine went down,
and instantly the deed of death was
done.
1t lacked just five minutes OF mid
night. Down in the ditch lay the Sec
ond engine, Engineer McClintock be-
headed and Fireman Apologize badly
injured. On top we're piled the three
baggage cars, on top of each other,
like child's card house after he had
swept it with his hand. Then came
the six day coaches. They were tele-
scoped as cars never were before, and
three OF them were pressed in Just
space enough for one. The second car
had crashed through the Car ahead of
il, crushing the woodwork aside like
finder, and resting on the tops of the
seats, while every passenger in the
front Car was lying dead and dying I'M
derneath. Out of that car but four
people came alive. On top of the Sec
ond car lay the third, its bottom
smeared with the blood OF its victims.
The other three cars were not 80 badly
crushed, but they were broken and
twisted in every conceivable way, and
every timber and beam represented
crushed human frame or broken
bone. Instantly the air was filled with
the cries OF the wounded and the
shrieks OF those about to die. The
groans OF men and the screams of wo-
men united to make an appall.
ing sound, and above all could be
heard the agonizing cries of little chill
dren. In some instances they lay pin
ned alongside Of their dead parents.
One man with both legs broken
crawled through the corn to the side
of his wife, and feeling her loved fea-
lures in the darkness pressed some
brandy to her lips, and asked her how
she felt. A feeble groen was the only
answer, and the next instant she died.
The man felt the forms of his dead
wife and child, cried out: "My God,
there is nothing more for me to live
for! and taking pistol out of his
pocket pulled the trigger. The ball
went straight through his brain, and
the three dead bodies were lain side
by side in Chatsworth until identified.
No sooner had the wreck occurred
than 4 scene of robbery commenced.
Some band Of unspeakable miscreants,
heartless and criminal, were on hand.
Like the guerrillas who throng a bat
tlefield the night after the conflict. to
filoh from the dead, so last night did
these human hyenas plumber the dead
from the terrible accident, and took
even the shoes which covered their
feet. They went into the car when
the fire was burning fercely under
meath, and when the poor wretches
who were pinned there begged for
Gods sake to help them out, stripped
them of their watches and jewelry and
searched their pockets. When the
dead bodies were laid out in the corn
fields these hyenas turned them over
in their search for valuables. Who
these wretohes are is not known.
Whether they are gang of pickpock.
cts who accompanied the train, or
some robber gang who were lurking
in the vicinity cannot be said. The
horrible suspicion, however, exists, and
there are many who give it eredence,
that the accident was a deliberately
planned case of train-wrecking, that
the bridge was set on fire by mis-
creants who hoped to seize the opportu-